Dubai's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum inaugurated a free zone for e-commerce today, called Dubai Internet City. The preliminary stages of the project, the only one of its kind according to its designers, are estimated at $200 million. Sheikh Mohamed, who is also the Defense Minister of the United Arab Emirates, announced at the inauguration ceremony that "we want to make Dubai a new trading center." The minister, who has his own website, also said: "I want Dubai to be the best place in the world for state-of-the-art technology companies." He said companies engaged in e-commerce would be able to set up offices, employ staff and own equipment in the open zone, including fully-owned foreign companies. The e-commerce free zone is situated in north Dubai, near the industrial free zone in Jebel Ali, the top regional and tenth international leading area in container transit. The inauguration of Dubai Internet City coincides with the opening of an annual IT show in Dubai, the Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (Gitex), the biggest in the Middle East. 

What project will "help make Dubai a new trading center" according to the Crown Prince?


Powell contended that it was not inconsistent to want to foster cooperation even with an organization like the Indonesian military, which has a history of human rights abuses. "If you get young officers, expose them to a military organization that is within a democratic political institution, such as the United States, then that rubs off on them," he said. In Malaysia, Powell met with Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who has led the country since 1981. The Malaysian foreign minister, Syed Hamid Albar, later told local reporters that Powell had proposed that American and Malaysian officials review the idea of forming a regional training center in Malaysia to coordinate antiterrorism activities. His brief stop in Malaysia also highlighted the moral ambiguities of the effort to prevent terrorism and its emphasis on cooperation with governments that the United States has often criticized. The United States once distanced itself from Mahathir for strong-arm tactics with political rivals, and human rights groups criticize him for arresting and jailing scores of suspected militants, including some who may be linked to al-Qaida, without trial. Powell said his discussions with Mahathir "touched on the case" of his former deputy, Anwar Ibrahim, who is serving a 15-year sentence on charges of sodomy and abuse of power after trials that Powell said the United States had "always felt" were flawed. The assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, James Kelly, met on Tuesday morning with Anwar's wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, for what she later told Malaysian reporters was a discussion about both the detention of her husband and six supporters, and the campaign against terrorism. 

What was the purpose of Powell's trip to Malaysia?


Milwaukee, Wisconsin (CNN) -- President Barack Obama, in a bid to create jobs and boost economic growth, called on Congress on Monday to pass a $50 billion plan to renew the country's transportation infrastructure. His address was the first of two speeches the president is scheduled to make this week to frame his administration's ongoing response to the recession, less than two months ahead of midterm elections in which Democratic majorities in the House and Senate are in jeopardy. "Today, I am announcing a new plan for rebuilding and modernizing America's roads, and rails and runways for the long term," said Obama, who spoke on Labor Day in Milwaukee, Wisconsin -- a state with competitive gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races. "We used to have the best infrastructure in the world. We can have it again," he said to loud cheers from a crowd of union workers. The proposal envisions -- over a six year period -- rebuilding 150,000 miles of roads, 4,000 miles of rail and 150 miles of airport runways. It also would include modernizing the nation's air traffic control system in an effort to reduce delays and travel time. "This will not only create jobs immediately. It's also going to make our economy hum over the long haul," said the president. Obama hopes to work with Congress to enact an up-front investment of $50 billion -- an amount a White House statement said would represent a significant chunk of new spending on infrastructure. The investment would then be paired with what the administration called a framework to improve transportation spending. The long-term plan would include the establishment of an Infrastructure Bank, which would leverage federal dollars and focus on projects that could deliver the the biggest bang for the buck, Obama said. The president stressed the need for Democrats and Republicans to work together on the transportation initiative, which would need to be approved by Congress. 


The plan for rebuilding and modernizing America's roads, and rails and runways for the long term would have what immediate effect?